When I was volunteering at an event a few weeks ago I was paired up with a young girl and we worked together for about an hour moving stuff around. We got to talking about politics and society. She said that she hates all government. I was intrigued - so I started asking questions.
I told her who I work for and that I technically work for the government - so I asked her why the hatred? What did she stand for? She proudly informed me that she was an Anarchist (my capitalization, not hers).
I waited a moment, then said "That's not good enough. Why do you hate the government?". She said that she hates all forms of government because of their oppressiveness. Okay, fine - but I need more than that.
So I asked her if she paid her taxes.
She said yes, but not much because she doesn't make much.
I asked her why she paid taxes - and was met with silence and a blank face.
She didn't get the irony in her statement.
She didn't understand the big picture.
Either you are opposed to the government and oppression and live your life that way - or you don't. But you at least understand what it is that you are fighting for and what you claim to believe in. I am certain that the vast majority of the Anarchist Black Bloc tactic people who wrecked Toronto this weekend have no idea what they were fighting for - they were a bunch of impressionable angry young people with possbly violent tendencies - looking to belong to something. They are living and acting with blinders and are not aware of, or care about the implications of their words or actions.
Like my co-volunteer - they do not understand the bigger picture.
I stopped asking questions at that point because I was sensing a wall coming - of her understanding and my amusement (which would soon lead to my frustration).
This is probably the only time in my life that you will find me agreeing with anything that Fred Phelps has ever said. I completely disagree with what Fred stood for and his tactics - but his daughter was on a radio talk show recently and she said that her father didn't care what other people believed and believed in - as long as they could defend their stance. Get behind something and defend it.
Who knows if this statement or belief was true or not - but I have a similar viewpoint.
If you want to call yourself an anarchist - then stand behind that and live that life. Educate yourself on what that means and don't hide behind the title - like that explains everything. Be proud of what you believe in. Don't cowardly hide behind masks and amongst innocent peaceful protesters. Don't whine when you're forcibly pulled out of that crowd and thrown in jail and maybe hit with a baton or fist or ten - then go running to the media you oppose or go get help from that government run medical system you so violently oppose.
And please do not confuse what a few hundred people did with what 25,000 people tried to do this weekend. The latter were informed, peaceful protesters who were trying to make the world a better place for other people - most of whom don't have a voice on the world stage.
The former were a bunch of cowardly, violent idiots who wanted nothing more than media attention and to wreck things - and who's agenda was all about themselves.
They were not protesters - they were asses.
And really - if this had happened in any other city in any other country - destroyed buildings, torched police cars, mounted police knocked off their horses, police yelled at, taunted and things thrown at them - there would not have been bruised and bloody people pulled out of crowds and thrown in jail.
There would have been dead people.
I am amazed that the police were able to maintain their restraint as long as they did. I wanted to gas those idiots - and I was just watching it on TV.
/<.
A couple articles from Christopher Bird at Torontoist:
About SaturdayAbout Sunday
Video of what the media missed this weekend because of these self-serving asses:
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